Book Reviews

Our Critic Doesn't Entirely <3 'The Emoji Code'

Vyvyan Evans' new book about the rise of emojis casts the little icons as part of human language's long-running struggle to evolve — but too often it reads like a textbook, didactic and dry.

The Zoo Is A Terrifying Place In 'Fierce Kingdom'

Gin Phillips' new novel — which follows a young mother trying to keep her child safe during a mass shooting at a zoo — explores the way violence can be a safe abstraction for kids, or cruelly real.

'Strange Practice:' The Doctor Is In

In Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw kicks off a new series about Dr. Greta Helsing, descendant of the famous Professor Abraham Van Helsing and general practitioner to the ghouls and ghasts of London.